City: Bhopal
Name: Nahar Singh Baghel
Height: About five feet
Profession: Bhopal Municipality
Nahar Singh Jindadil was not only the owner of the person, but also a symbol of Ganga-Jamuni culture. Once, the hockey team of Sofia College, Bhopal went to play Scindia Gold Cup in Gwalior. Gwalior’s team started losing at a point. Then slogans started in the audience that Pakistani is, kill them. Then Nahar Singh challenged the crowd shouting slogans in a real Bhopali manner and gave such a speech in the day of Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb that the slogans were silent in minutes.
From the pages of the past: Niece Manju Singh with a picture of Nahar Singh
People used to call him black uncle with love. Black maternal uncle’s anger was always on his nose. Two or three times a week, he would cross the limits of debate and come down on the scuffle. In such a situation, friends had to save their honor and have to come to the field themselves. People started calling him Surma by fretting the result of his scuffle and Surma became Bhopali by going ahead. He used to narrate the stories of his scuffle clashes in such a way that every man was convinced that Surma is Surma. The people of Bhopal considered him like Surma and used to do it.
While writing Sholay, when Javed Akhtar gave the name Surma Bhopali to Jagdeep, Surma’s anger became a storm again. He decided to sue Javed Akhtar through his friend Mohammad Ali lawyer. It is good that the friends of Javed Akhtar’s college days did not progress beyond the lawyer’s table, otherwise Sholay was seen circling in the courts.
In the society of middle class cities of India, countless Surma Bhopali and black maternal uncle are alive. Surma Bhopali is just an example.
